The First-Time Mom Who Can’t Get a Day Off From Work

In our new series Pregnancy Diaries, we ask expecting women to jot down every pregnancy-related detail of their lives for a week. (Special thanks to New York mag and Refinery29 for the inspo.) Work-related conundrums, struggles with IVF and a whole lot of nausea ahead. This week, we have a 34-year-old film post-producer and first-time mom living in Chelsea with her husband. She was on the pill for eight years and got pregnant within five months of trying. She’s 20 weeks along.

Day 1

7 a.m. — I wake up hungry, like I do every morning. I gulp down a huge glass of water and jump into the shower.

8 a.m. — Eat a quick breakfast of banana bread and a clementine (I usually hate anything in the orange family, but [have] been craving it ever since I got pregnant.) I long for a big, hot, steaming cup of coffee. Man, I miss coffee. Even though my doctor said I can have 12 ounces of caffeine daily, I’m only allowing myself 12 ounces a week. It’s tough.

12 p.m. — Expecting a call from my OB-GYN about the genetic blood test we took last week. Anxious to know if our baby is healthy and also the gender!

12:30 p.m. — OB-GYN calls right on schedule. They tell me everything is OK with the baby and asked if I want to know the gender. Um, yes. Nurse on the line tells me we’re having a girl! I immediately call my husband with the news in tears. We’re over the moon!

3 p.m. — My clients are keeping me busy, so I can only sit to eat lunch now. I packed myself my own lunch today, which is very rare: a large salad loaded with veggies, a peach, a yogurt and a slice of banana bread. I regret not including any protein in my salad. I’ll make up for it at dinner.

8 p.m. — Finally leave work, but leaving at 8 p.m. is normal. I’m so thankful I got my Blue Apron food service shipment for the week so I don’t have to worry about what to make for dinner. My husband has already started dinner prep: roasted chicken with olives and a side of tomato couscous.

9 p.m. — Dinner, done. Dishes, done. Time to try to relax… with some Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Phone rings and it’s work. Damn — I have to get this.

6 p.m. — Knowing that I have to stay at work late, I quickly eat my leftover lunch of hummus, falafel and beets. I don’t feel satisfied or that I made a good health choice, but I have to eat something. Who knows when I’ll eat next?

9 p.m. — Clients arrive 30 minutes late. I was right about it being a long night.

“I don’t even make it to bed and pass out on the couch.”

Day 3

6 a.m. — Get woken up by a co-worker’s phone call. Can’t get back to sleep.

9 a.m. — Decide to get to work earlier than usual to make sure everything is in order from the night before. Haven’t even had a chance to eat breakfast and I didn’t eat a healthy dinner the night before. I worry that this can’t be good for Baby Girl, and I’m starting to feel stressed out.

6 p.m. — My workday was indeed Stress City. I decide to take my friends up on their offer and meet them for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. It was nice to have some girl time. As they pass a pitcher of margarita, I sip on some raspberry agua fresca.

9 p.m. — I get home and I’m suddenly hit with extreme exhaustion. I don’t even make it to bed and pass out on the couch.

1 a.m. — I wake up from a terrible work-related nightmare and realize I forgot to send an email out today. I take out my computer and start doing some work. Might as well get a head start to my day, right?

“It’s a gorgeous day, so we decide to walk there. It was a nice stroll, but I had to stop three times along the way to pee.”

Day 4

9 a.m. — Heard of a sample sale I’ve been dying to go to, so I decide to stop by before heading to work. I told myself not to buy much, but I leave with three pairs of shoes and a bag. Yikes. I convince myself that I deserve these shoes and bag — I’m currently growing a human after all!

12 p.m. — It’s a co-worker’s birthday, so we decide to go out to lunch. I haven’t had a real lunch break in a long time. It was nice not to stress about emails and clients for a little.

3 p.m. — I start to feel snacky. I grab pretzels from the office kitchen, but it’s not holding me over. I make my way to the health food store down the street and buy some tumeric almonds and watermelon.

7 p.m. — I’m super-exhausted and want to get home, so I slip out of the office before anyone notices I’m gone. Once there, my husband is already preparing dinner. He tells me to sit, relax and let him take care of cooking tonight. Damn — how did I get so lucky?

8 p.m. — I get a call from my mom. She’s super-excited about her future granddaughter and is already planning out her monthly visits to New York. I’m wishing she lived closer so that we didn’t have to plan things out like this.

Day 5

9 a.m. — I decide to take a PTO day due to my 5 a.m. work night this week. I make plans to meet a friend for lunch.

1 p.m. — We meet up in the West Village. Even though I took a PTO, my phone is blasting with emails and phone calls. I have to excuse myself twice to answer some calls. This is not what a PTO day is supposed to be like.

2 p.m. — My friend looks annoyed by my lack attention, so I offer to treat her to some gelato on the High Line. It’s a gorgeous day, so we decide to walk there. It was a nice stroll, but I had to stop three times along the way to pee.

5 p.m. — The amount of emails coming in are starting to overwhelm me, so I immediately get on my computer when I get home. I get a good two hours of work in.

7 p.m. — Husband gets home and surprises me with a date night. We try to have as many date nights as we can since we feel like we never see each other due to our work schedules, and it’ll probably get worse once Baby Girl arrives. We enjoy a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant and catch a comedy show.

11 p.m. — When we get home, we’re not the least bit tired, so we squeeze in some episodes of the old HBO show Big Love. We eventually end up passing out on the couch.

“I’ve gained 4 pounds since I first found out I was pregnant back in January. Is that too little? Too much? I take a mental note to Google that later.”

Day 6

10 a.m. — I sleep in and immediately head to the kitchen to make my one weekly 12-ounce cup of caffeine. I enjoy it a little too much. I have that with a bagel and almond butter topped with strawberries.

1 p.m. — I’ve been missing my Saturday afternoon Pilates classes, so I’m determined to make the class today. It felt so good.

3 p.m. — The hubs and I have a baby registry appointment, which we’re overly excited about. The registry specialist is super-helpful, but I start feeling overwhelmed. Do we really need a baby wipes warmer? …No, I think we’ll pass on the baby food blender… I don’t need a cup holder on my stroller, do I?

4 p.m. — While looking at the breast pump and breast pump accessories, I suddenly realize I’ve lost my husband. He shows up 20 minutes later with a Star Wars baby book, saying he just had to buy it for Baby Girl. I can tell he’s super-excited about becoming a dad [so] I’m not as overwhelmed as before.

8 p.m. — After a dinner of tacos per my request, we make it an early night, change into PJs and watch more episodes of Big Love.

Day 7

9 a.m. — I feel ambitious, so I go to the gym again — second day in a row! I haven’t weighed myself since my prenatal appointment 8 weeks ago, so I reluctantly do so after my workout. I’ve gained 4 pounds since I first found out I was pregnant back in January. Is that too little? Too much? I take a mental note to Google that later.

12 p.m. — I’m full of energy, so after a lunch of leftover salmon, brown rice and spinach, I start to clean my apartment from top to bottom. I then squeeze in some work. I always like to prepare for the week ahead.

4 p.m. — The hubs and I just want to spend the rest of the evening vegging out in front of the TV. We choose a movie off Netflix and make popcorn.

8 p.m. — The popcorn fills us up, so we don’t even think about dinner until now. We decide to order in some Thai food and watch another movie.

1 a.m. — I’m having the hardest time falling asleep due to my usual Sunday night work jitters. I’m hoping this coming week is not as bad as the last one. Baby Girl and I can’t handle more stress.